Eric Carlson's bright ideas

Eric Carlson's bright ideas

Pacific Business News
Executive Insight Column

Mar 10, 2017, 5:00am HST

It was in late 2007 when a friend of Eric Carlson’s was asked to
lead the sales effort of an up-and-coming solar energy company.

“He asked me to come over because of my background in construction
management and sales,” Carlson told Pacific Business News. “Solar
was still in its infancy stage — a lot of mom-and-pop types of businesses.
The goal was to implement a more professional offering and customer experience
to the solar space that existed in more mature industries like the building
industry.”

He saw an opportunity and jumped right in. In July 2009, he and several
others started RevoluSun, which has grown to become one of the largest
solar companies in the state.

With the slowdown in the industry mainly due to the ending of the net energy
metering incentive program in late 2015, several companies were forced
to shut down with many others downsizing.

RevoluSun, among others, pivoted to add more variety to its product offerings
beyond just selling and installing rooftop solar panels.

Today, the Honolulu-based company is also marketing the “Smart Home”
offerings built inside its showroom on Ward Avenue in an old Bank of Hawaii space.

Carlson now serves as RevoluSun’s chief innovation officer, after
having served as the company’s marketing director.

PBN caught up with him to get his take of what he feels is the biggest
reward of his job and the biggest mistake he’s made in business.

What’s the biggest challenge of your job? Our biggest challenge is
to perform, plan and operate a steady business in a very unstable landscape.
We jokingly refer to our industry as the “solar coaster.”
As with any disruptive technology or industry, opposition usually arises
from the status quo. Hawaii’s solar PV industry is no exception
to that. There is a lot at stake for Hawaii and many questions that are
still unanswered as to what our energy infrastructure will look like in
the near future, but it’s clear that solar electricity is now and
will continue to be the cleanest, cheapest, most abundant form of electricity
for Hawaii.

What’s the biggest reward? Our biggest reward is the work we do with
the community. At our core, we truly believe that what we do outside of
the office is just as important as the work we do inside. We donate our
time, services and resources to a number of local organizations that promote
environmental stewardship, education for our keiki and encourage healthy
lifestyles in the communities all over the Islands.

What is the biggest mistake you’ve made in business? My biggest mistake
was shying away from areas of the business that I didn’t have a
lot of experience in. I compartmentalized myself for a long time. While
my partners in those areas are more than qualified, when I learned more
about those areas I provided a different perspective, which at times led
to more efficient solutions to a problem. This goes both ways as I routinely
ask my partners for advice and insight on things I’m working on
and it’s always helpful.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned? That enthusiastically
supporting and genuinely helping others always comes back to you. Also,
volunteering is the best form of medicine.

What is hardest thing you have had to do in business? Having to constrict
our business during the challenging times brought on by sudden policy
changes in our industry and having to let good, passionate members of
our team go has been the hardest thing I’ve had to do.

How many people work for you? We currently have 75 people at RevoluSun
Smart Home.

How do you hire? First and foremost, we want to be an attractive company
to work for, so that we are attracting the best talent, which helps streamline
the hiring process. We set the standards high for ourselves and do great
work. Secondly, we evaluate if we can promote from within our organization,
so that way we know that they already have a good understanding of the
expectations and also know where our company is heading.

How do you retain employees? By attracting the right talent, we have people
that share similar levels of enthusiasm, passion and professionalism.
And of course we like to create a healthy, fun work environment that keeps
morale high. For example, we do lots of volunteer work with our team,
invite healthy workplace experiences like yoga classes, and also throw
good old-fashioned office parties with lots of food.

When do you get your best ideas? For me, it’s anytime I’m getting
the heart pumping, whether in the gym, riding my bike, hiking or surfing.

How do you start your day? Watching the sunrise.

Who inspires you? Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia Clothing Co., is
my inspiration. He is what a CEO should aspire to be, he is hardcore in
holding himself accountable and has stayed true to the core values of
“build the best product, causing no unnecessary harm and use business
to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”
As a result, they are dominating the outdoor clothing line industry.